How selling books on Google Play works

Some features described on this page may not be available, as selling books on Google Play is limited to certain countries.

How it works for publishers and authors

You provide the book files

Join the Google Books Partner Programme in order to submit books. We accept files in either PDF or EPUB format. If you upload both formats, readers will have a choice between the original layout of the PDF file and the flexible reflowable text of the EPUB file.

You specify the book settings

Manage your books and sales settings in the Google Play Books Partner Centre. Specify the countries where you want to sell, choose whether to apply DRM and provide list prices. Except in cases where Google is acting as your agent or where Google is required to sell at a price set by the publisher, Google has the discretion to set prices as it sees fit. However, we will share the revenue from any sales with you according to the list price that you provide.

Google handles the hosting, sales and distribution

Your books are sold on Google Play, a digital content experience available internationally on a wide variety of platforms. A limited percentage of your books will also be available for preview on Google Books, much in the same way that readers in physical bookstores can browse through the pages before deciding to buy. You'll be able to download detailed preview and sales reports, and receive a majority of revenue from each sale.

Benefits

Google offers a tremendous base of users and an easy way to manage your content and, as we excel in search, we hope to help many people discover your books. Our philosophy of allowing users to read anywhere, anytime, also attracts many readers. And our international reach – which we're aiming to expand as quickly as possible –can potentially bring your books to the attention of people around the world.

As Google does not ask for exclusive rights to sell digital editions of your books, you can sell both on Google Play and through other retailers. There is no cost for selling books on Google Play. You'll receive the majority of the revenue from each sale and your revenue share will always be based on the list price that you provide.